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The Father's Business Podcast
The Father's Business Podcast
The Battle Is Not Yours: How Understanding Your Divine Inheritance Transforms Prayer
Discover the profound difference between praying as a spiritual orphan versus praying as a covenant child of God Most High. When we truly grasp our identity as co-heirs with Christ, we approach prayer not from desperation but from divine confidence. As Elizabeth unpacks this transformative truth, she reveals how spiritual warfare often serves a higher purpose than we realize—it's an invitation to witness God's glory and power in action.
Journey deep into the heart of what it means to pray from a place of confidence rather than fear, knowing that the battle belongs to your Mighty Warrior who has never been and will never be defeated. When you grasp who you are as God's beloved heir, you'll find yourself spending less time begging God to show up and more time thanking Him that victory is already yours.
The Father's Business was founded by Sylvia Gunter to encourage people to a deeper relationship with God. I'm Elizabeth Gunter Powell and I am Kimberly Roddy. Welcome to the Father's Business Podcast. We are so glad that you've joined us. Welcome to the podcast everyone.
Speaker 1:This is Elizabeth and we're going to kind of continue our conversation from last week. Is Elizabeth that we're going to kind of continue our conversation from last week about living as a covenant son and daughter of God Most High and see how that impacts the way we pray and the way that we allow God to fight our battles for us? So if you haven't had a chance to listen to last week's episode, I encourage you to go. Do that so you have an understanding of where we're starting from. Kimberly will be back with us next week, but for today, we want to talk about how knowing our identity as a covenant son and daughter of God Most High, knowing that we are not just adopted but also an heir, changes the way we approach prayer. I think oftentimes we see prayer as a list of things that we're asking God to do for us, especially if we find ourselves in a hard position. We think that prayer is something we do when we're in trouble. Prayer is something we do when we have a need, rather than it being a life-breathing relationship between a father and a child. So as we begin to fully understand what it means to live as a covenant son or daughter of God Most High, it will change the way we talk to God about things. Our conversation will become more about enjoying one another's presence. I encourage you, at the end of our last podcast, just to take 15 minutes to be still and enjoy rest, because so much of life is about striving, and I think that spills over into our prayer life, especially when we feel like we're under attack, when troubles come or things are not going our way or we're not seeing movement the way that we want it to. I think oftentimes the first question that comes to my mind, and I'm sure yours as well, is what do I need to pray? How do I need to approach this? And there are certain times that God will prompt you to pray in a certain way our effort and us striving and fighting and warring, and more about us again coming to that place of understanding I'm a covenant daughter of God most high and God is entirely responsible for me and being able to battle from a place of rest. So our enemies are God's enemies and he is actively, aggressively, our mighty warrior at all times. And, whether we realize it or not, there is a lot that God is doing to war on our behalf.
Speaker 1:Here's the good news bad news about learning to rest as a covenant son or daughter of God Most High and trusting that the battle is the Lord's. The victory is already won. That's the great news. You don't have to strive to win. Victory is yours.
Speaker 1:Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for whatever battle might be coming against you and, as an heir, like we talked about last week, you have that bank account that you can draw from. As an heir, you have the full power and victory of Christ's death, resurrection and ascension at your disposal. The weapons on your side are far greater than the weapons on the other side. That's the fabulous news. The less great news is the enemies that you're facing, whether they're coming for your finances, your relationships, your health, your job, whatever area of your life, your children, that you're praying so hard that they would come into a full relationship with Jesus. Wherever those battles are in your life, the enemy has already lost. He knows the end of the story. Jesus wins. We all know the end of the story Jesus wins, the Father wins, but there is damage that can be done along the way in the meantime.
Speaker 1:But warfare is not just about the enemy, and I think that's kind of where we have to begin to understand, as we step into this deeper place of understanding that we are co-heirs with Christ. Warfare is not just about the enemy. Oftentimes warfare is an invitation for you to know God more, for you to understand his character, for you to see his power and his glory. And so Jesus said you will have trouble in this world, but take heart, I will be with you. So sometimes the difficult places we find ourselves in may be more about what God is trying to show us, of who he is and his power, and less about glorifying the enemy. And that is a really tough one, because I think sometimes in our prayer life, as we're praying, we almost give the enemy too much credit, and that's not at all what we want to glorify. We don't want to glorify the issues we're dealing with. We don't want to glorify the power that he has, although his power is real and not to be mocked. We want to shift our focus as covenant sons and daughters of God, most high to the true focus, which is our. God, is the mighty warrior. He cannot be defeated. He will never be defeated. He will always be victorious and we're on his side. We get to glorify God through what we're going through.
Speaker 1:There is so much in the Psalms about this concept. David is honest about the things that he's going through, but I find it very interesting in Psalm 59, 11. This Psalm is written as David is on the run for his life. Saul has sent his men to surround the place where David is staying and lie in wait to kill him. And in the midst of that, david writes Psalm 59. Let me read part of Psalm 59 for us today.
Speaker 1:So David starts out Psalm 59 asking Deliver me from my enemies, o God. Be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood. See how they lie and wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine. Lord, I have done no wrong yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me and look on my plight. So he's honest.
Speaker 1:This is really, really hard and it's obviously a betrayal, as he is being accused and they're trying to be killed simply because God decided to anoint him as king and there is someone who's jealous of him, that wants his place. But then he quickly turns his attention not to who the enemy is, but to who God is. In verse 5, you, lord, god Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations, show no mercy to the wicked traitors. And then, a few verses down, he says you are my strength, I watch for you. You, god, are my fortress, my God, on whom I can rely. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me. And so he's saying my trust is not in my own ability, my trust is not in how powerful my enemy is. My trust is in knowing who God is and the power that God has. And that's what a covenant son and daughter does. They are not distressed by the size of the enemy ahead of them, because they know who is in them and who is with them, and that he that is within me is bigger than he that is in the world. Right, and that's what it's like as a covenant son and daughter.
Speaker 1:It's not that we don't have battles. We have fierce battles that we have to walk through, but we walk through them from a place of rest, of knowing. Yes, there are enemies coming against me, yes, there are things that are trying to devour me, but I am on the Lord's side and God's strength will go with me, it will go before me, it will be my strength. I will watch and I will hide in God, who is my fortress, and allow him to battle for me. Do you hear the place of rest that allows you to live in when you're not striving to figure out how you have to fight to win this battle, but you're simply saying, god, I'm going to take a step back and I'm going to hide behind your big, broad shoulders and I'm going to let you go before me and I'm going to let you fight this me and I'm going to let you fight this battle today.
Speaker 1:But there's an interesting thing A lot of this Psalm, david is saying you know, you need to curse them and kill them. And it's a very interesting verse in the middle of this Psalm, and that's where I want us to understand this is the mindset of a covenant son. He truly was a man after God's own heart that's what we're told in scripture and he got the bigger picture because in the midst of saying they're doing all this stuff, they want to kill me and you need to take them out and don't let them triumph over me and all the other things he's saying in Psalm 59, there's this one verse in Psalm 59, 11 that says but do not kill them, lord, our shield or my people will forget In your might, uproot them and bring them down. And the meaning, if you really look into that scripture, is basically saying don't kill them quickly. Like David still wants the enemy taken out right. So this is not a call to be a martyr and say I will deal with the warfare that's coming against me, because that would glorify God more. No, david wants the enemy taken out, but he doesn't want it to happen immediately.
Speaker 1:And remember, as we talked two weeks ago about blessed and highly favored, my idea of blessed and highly favored is a life of ease and where all of my problems are solved instantly. That's blessed and highly favored to me. But David got it as a covenant son and a man after God's own heart. He understood that, yes, I want you to deal with my enemies, but don't do it quickly. And the reason was because then your people will forget you God. Then your people will forget you God. David got it. He understood that, whatever battles he might be facing, it was so that God's fame could be shared, so that God could be known, so that his people could remember who God is. And he understood the need for the warfare. But he also understood the warfare was not his. We've talked about this on other podcasts before.
Speaker 1:How often we are told to stand, that we're not. This idea that we have to strive, that we have to fight, that we have to work, is not God's heart and desire for us. He desires for us to enjoy communion with him and stand and watch the deliverance that he wants to bring us. So it's throughout the Psalms. If you're interested in digging more into this, if you go to Living in His Presence, volume 1 to the Warfare section, there's an entire section where we have written out for you two different lists where it talks about the type of warfare we're going to be in. It describes the way the enemies come after us.
Speaker 1:David spent a lot of time describing the attack that was coming against him, and that's what I love so much about David. He wasn't trying to sugarcoat things, it was bad. There are over 150 verses in the Psalms that talk about ways that the enemy was trying to take him down and the way that his enemies were gloating over him, and so that's one list that we put in Living in His Presence, volume 1, because you do need to be aware, some of you aren't woken up to the fact you're living in a battle, there is an enemy that wants to take you out, and so, yes, as covenant sons and daughters, we need to be aware there is a battle and it is a very serious situation that we're living in. We are living in the midst of a war. And how does my day change if I wake up in the morning going, okay, I'm living in the midst of a war. Now, I don't want that to take you to a place of fear, because that's not what it's supposed to do, but it is the reality of what we're living in. It's so easy to kind of get your senses dulled and just wake up in the routine of your day and sometimes forget just how much you have an enemy that wants to destroy you. So there's over 150 verses you can read that describe how the enemy wants to destroy you in Psalms. But do you know what? The next list we have put into?
Speaker 1:Living in His Presence, volume 1 for you. Right after that list comes another list of all the ways that God fights for you, and there are over 250 verses in Psalms that talk about what God is going to do for you, on your behalf, to destroy your enemies. Do you see that? Yes, david was honest about his enemies, but he focused more almost double the scriptures and Psalms that talk about what God is going to do to your enemies, and his power and his might and his love for you and his ability to come through for you, versus those that talk about what the strength of the enemy and what the enemy can do. And that is the balance of living as a covenant son and daughter of God Most High.
Speaker 1:You are not foolish to think that you will not have trouble in this world. You are not foolish to think that you will not have to go through hard times. You are not foolish to think that spiritual warfare is not real. It is, but as a covenant son and daughter, as a co-heir with Christ who has access to everything that God has for you, you have the ability to tap in to the strength of those 250 verses and Psalms that tell you the type of warrior that you have fighting on your behalf and you are able to walk in peace and strength and dignity as things come against you, knowing it's okay. Yep, that's an enemy, I recognize that, but that's not the final word. The final word is he is my mighty warrior, he is my strength, he is my refuge, he is my tower, he is the one that I run to, and it's not up to me to fight this battle. I need to stand firm and watch the deliverance that God brings, and I think that's very interesting that all of this is kept inside the book that is we mainly see as a book of worship, and it is because being honest with God about your circumstances, but then claiming who God is for you in those circumstances and thanking Him in advance for the victory that he's going to bring, is the heart of worship, and worship is at the heart of your abiding relationship with God, and that is the heart of worship.
Speaker 1:David, first and foremost. While he was a warrior, while he was a king, he was a worshiper and a lover of God. He was a man after God's own heart. Of all the things that God could use to describe David. He didn't say David was a mighty warrior. David was a good king. David was a good son, a faithful husband, because he really wasn't Of all the things God could use to describe David. He didn't talk about David being the mighty warrior that killed Goliath, david being a king that ruled over Israel. What he said about David is he was a man after my own heart. David never made it about him when it came to warfare. It was always talking about the greatness of who God was. When even David, as a little boy, is facing the great Philistine giant, goliath, he didn't say I'm such a great guy with my slingshot I'm going to take you out.
Speaker 1:This is what he said in 1 Samuel. You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defiled this day. The Lord will hand you over to me and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that this is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for. The battle is the Lord's and he will give all of you into our hands. David got it Warfare, troubles, challenges we go through at their core. It's not about the enemy and what the enemy's doing to us. It is about okay, god, this is hard, I don't want to be here, but how are you going to use this to glorify yourself? And as long as I continue my focus on the mightiness of God, the power that is at my disposal because I am a co-heir with you, I cannot be defeated.
Speaker 1:And so oftentimes have you not been in those situations where you have, say, a meeting at work that's coming up, or there's a situation going on with one of your kids and you have that sleepless night where you're worried about the thing that's going to happen the next day and you're stewing and wondering I know I've done it. I play conversations in my head all the time. Well, if they say this, then I can say this, and if I do this and I do this, then I should probably do this to take care of that. And we're spinning all the time and our worry and our fear and our doubt, trying to figure out how we have to strive to make it better, or what's the outcome of this means going to be, or how am I going to handle this situation with this person. That's been really painful. Or what am I going to do with my child who's not living the life that I want him to live? And we spin, and we spin. And it's out of a heart of love, it's out of a heart of wanting the best. I get that, but we wear ourselves out and we refuse the invitation of Jesus. Come to me all, ye, who are weary, and I'll give you rest. And so oftentimes in my own life I have to wear myself out before I come to him for rest. And what we're trying to get all of us, myself included too is to a space where, when the giant shows up, there's no fear there, because we understand who's on our side and we understand it's not up to us.
Speaker 1:And have you had those situations where you worried and fretted about the situation? And then the situation comes to pass and you see how God showed up for you in a way that you didn't even expect. He is far more creative and imaginative about how he can solve your problems than you could ever think of. He comes up with a solution that I never would have thought of and all of a sudden, everything is taken care of. And I've seen God come through for me and I've just left going. I wasted a lot of time worrying about that one.
Speaker 1:Sad to say, I don't always learn my lesson, but growth as a child of God, growth in our covenant relationship with him, is that maybe more often than not, when a situation comes against me, when the enemy tries to attack, my first thought might be let's see what God wants to do this time. That doesn't mean I won't be afraid. That doesn't mean I won't worry. I can't imagine that there's never been a place where David wasn't afraid. You see it in scripture where he talks about why have you abandoned me? Why have you left me? I'm going to die Like. David had real hard emotions, but he always came back to but God. God will be there for me. God will show up for me. I will not be destroyed and it's okay to feel the emotion of the moment. But how quickly can you get yourself back to a place of? But I'm on the winning side and that's where we learn to live from rest. That's where we learn to live as a co-heir with Christ.
Speaker 1:If I'm in on all the meetings, let's just imagine I could be. Let's just imagine I could be involved in the conversation that the Trinity is having about our life. Father, son and Holy Spirit are in communion with each other. It says that Jesus is our advocate before the Father and the Holy Spirit is groaning in intercession in words that we can't understand, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Father are constantly having a conversation about each of us. Isn't that fascinating that they can. Jesus is advocating for you, jesus is advocating for me, the Holy Spirit is interceding for you, the Holy Spirit is interceding for me and somehow, in the bigness of God, they can do it for everyone on the planet all at the same time.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't it be great if you could just tune into that conversation for a minute and hear their perspective on what your problems are? I think if I could hear the God perspective of what I'm facing today, I'd be a lot more at peace. Maybe if we tuned in a little bit and could hear what God's perspective is and how much, and could even begin to grasp how much power, ability and victory is at his disposal that he plans on using on our behalf, I think I'd live my life a lot more peaceful and restful. I think I'd live my life a lot more peaceful and restful. Now, sadly, god's not going to invite me into the committee meeting. I don't get invited to be the fourth member of the Trinity and join them in that conversation.
Speaker 1:But I can spend time digging in, not only into the Psalms but also in Isaiah. There are numerous verses in those two books alone where it talks about this is what God's going to do to those that come against the people he loves. So you don't have to be invited into a conversation with the Trinity, as glorious as that would be. Take the time to get in the word and read this is who God is for those that he loves. Because we've already established, as we talked about last week, you are a covenant son and daughter of God Most High. You are deeply loved and because of that covenantial love that God has with you, that cannot change. Regardless of your behavior, you will still be a son. Now you can be a son that is pleasing to the Father or not so pleasing to the Father, but your identity as a son or a daughter will not change. So, as you are reading through the Psalms of what God will do for his people, that's you, you are his people and he will come through for you.
Speaker 1:You can open up your own Bible if you don't have a copy of Living in His Presence, volume 1, or I encourage you to either buy the book off our website or get it as an e-book off of Amazon, because we have listed out for you, as I said, over 250 verses of what the Lord will do for you in battle. And then didn't stop there. We go on to the book of Isaiah and we have also listed in Living in His Presence, verse by verse, what God will do on your behalf in Isaiah, and there's over 100 verses there. So you have over 350 verses in those two books alone, not to mention all of the other verses that are mentioned in other parts of Scripture where it talks about the battle is the Lord's.
Speaker 1:Stand firm, watch and see the deliverance of your God After you've put on the full armor, do every and have done everything, stand. So many times we are told to stand and watch what God wants to do. So if you find yourself not believing that you can live from a place of rest because the victory is already assured for you, I'm going to invite you to spend time in Psalms and Isaiah over the next few days and just highlight and read Every time you see something that talks about what God will do for His people or against your enemies, highlight it until you are able to walk with the full confidence, as a co-heir with christ, seated with him in heavenly places, knowing that even when times are hard, victory is already assured. It will change the way you pray. You are no longer coming to god begging and pleading that he help you, begging and pleading him that he would show up for you, begging and pleading for him to be near to you, because you'll know that he help you. Begging and pleading him that he would show up for you. Begging and pleading for him to be near to you, because you'll know that he is. Even if you cannot sense him with your mind or feel him with your emotions, the truth is is that the mighty warrior is fighting on your behalf. If it matters to you, it matters to him. He already knows the outcome of all the situations you're worrying about. He's already got the solution ready and he's already ready to show you how he's going to show off his glory in the midst of what you're going through. So it changes the way you pray. You're no longer someone groveling, begging for God to show up for you. You sit in a place of confidence as a co-heir with him, knowing I may not fully understand what God's doing right now, but victory is assured. He is never late. I often tell him he misses opportunities to show up early, but God is never late and in his timing and for his purposes that bring him the most glory, he will prevail. But the answer may not look anything like what we want it to be, and that's our part of surrender, is God? I'm not going to dictate to you what the results of these hard things I'm going through is going to be. I'm going to learn to trust you as a loving daughter and a loving son, that what comes to pass, while I may not get it and I may not like it, it is for the fullness of your glory. So pray with me this way as we end Father, I worship you and I say, along with the psalmist O God, you are my God.
Speaker 1:Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods, with singing lips. My mouth will praise you Because you are my help. I will sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you. Your right hand upholds me. I will sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you. Your right hand upholds me.
Speaker 1:Father, I choose to place myself in line with your good and acceptable and perfect will, which ultimately will glorify you. I thank you that the enemy cannot in any way rob me of your best. You have given me abundant life in Jesus and I surrender to you, father, son and Holy Spirit. And we say Father, come glorify yourself. Jesus, come glorify yourself, holy Spirit, come glorify yourself.
Speaker 1:In the circumstances I am in today, I thank you that victory is already mine. I thank you that I am a co-heir with you. I'm a covenant child of God Most High. I am seated with you in heavenly places. You are entirely responsible for everything that happens to me today and you have intimate knowledge of my needs, of my wants, of my desires and my dreams, and you hold them all and in your loving care. You have watched over me. You have watched over everything that concerns me and I declare you are actively present and more involved in the things of my life than I can even begin to imagine.
Speaker 1:So thank you, father, thank you for your tender, attentive care that is with me in all things. And so, father, would you help quiet the fear and the worry and the doubt of my soul. Would you help me come to you and lay me down in green pastures beside still waters and let me drink deeply of your rest, knowing that you're the one who cares for me, and not only do you care for me, you have the power to do something about it. So I say I love you, mighty warrior, thank you for being King of Kings, lord of Lords and, above all, you are above all, you are before all, and you will be with me in all. And so I choose rest in you. Today, I want to thank you for listening to the Father's Business Podcast. I want to thank you for listening to the Father's Business Podcast. This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you. To donate, go to wwwTheFathersBusinesscom. Be sure to follow us at the Father's Biz on Instagram and Facebook.
